Om Malik started my morning with a post (almost a rant) about the forced conformity of creativity on the Internet and how algorithms are forcing creators into a grey-beige world:
“What used to require shame and ostracism is now baked into the internet’s economic infrastructure. The algorithmic reality of technology platforms has codified conformity into the human condition. And it is very profitable—the real late-stage capitalism. Things are going to get worse with the new AI, that leans into the ‘mid’ as a default, built entirely on the notion of conformity.”
This is what I dislike most about the internet: the conformity that’s crept in. It’s hard to hate because we collectively reinforce it by only liking, following, and sharing what the algorithms tell us (condition us to believe) is worthy. We let the algorithm decide what good looks like. Instead of rewarding creators who dare to be different and lean into their uniqueness, we reward those who conform to an artificial standard. I won’t even call it good (there’s no guarantee of that). It’s just guaranteed they followed what the algorithm wanted. They’re good at conforming. Do we want that?
It’s crept into blogs too. SEO forces bloggers who want to be seen to conform to parameters designed to “help” posts surface in Google searches. While we still have some flair in site design (nothing like the glorious madness of GeoCities) there’s still pressure to conform to standard layouts and design choices.
A challenge from Om:
“Today, open YouTube and every single thumbnail looks the same. Shocked faces, specific color contrasts, carefully positioned text overlays. Same voice. Same cadence and energy level. And videos have roughly the same lengths. The algorithm rewards these patterns with distribution and punishes deviation with obscurity. Creators choose grey-beige conformity because it works, and the algorithm rewards sameness.”
To rebel is to languish in obscurity.
